Episode 11.5

“Thin Lizzie” Review

By Annie Kenney

Obviously Baby was going to be a very hard act to follow but Thin Lizzie gave it a real good try! I really enjoyed this episode and, I’m pleased and surprised to report, my husband who very rarely watches really enjoyed it too!

On first glance it looked as if this was going to be a typical monster of the week episode with the Then montage full of ghosts and how to recognize them. The start was typical Supernatural with a couple in a ‘haunted’ room, flickering lights, a creaking door and a very frightening hooded figure with a very sharp axe. Cue screaming and blood splatters…an exciting start.

How great to see Sam and Dean together and getting on so well with no secrets or curses or marks or angels or anything else between them! Fantastic to see Sam getting his geek on and who knew he had a secret fetish for serial killers? I adore it when Dean calls Sam a geek and generally teases him. It was nice to see the dynamic between the brothers was getting back to how it used to be in Seasons 1 & 2.

Back on the road and Baby certainly looked a lot better! When the brothers arrived at the Bed & Breakfast Sam was certainly excited enough to pay extra to stay in Lizzie Borden’s old room. How refreshing was it to see Dean back to his old snarky self? Hating doilies, making sarcastic comments about ‘Working with family’ and just being – well – Dean. I laughed out loud at the flowery room and Sam’s adventures with the spray perfume! I also liked the fact that Sam was going to stay in that room by hook or by crook and it was obvious he really, really wanted to find Lizzie’s ghost.

It was a nice and unexpected twist when the bed and breakfast turned out to be a bust. So then it was even more surprising when the murders started up again. Just who was wielding the axe? And were they a serial killer or a ghost?

Agent Collins and Gabriel (nice nod to Genesis!) were determined to find out.

And so we met Len – possibly one of the better characters we have been introduced to for a while. Len was a self-confessed geek and really, really sweet. Dean clearly thought he was a nerd until he found that Len had drawn the mark on a piece of paper. I was genuinely shocked to find that Len had had an encounter with Amara and had lost his soul in the process. I thought that this was a brilliant turn of events and I loved how Len was portrayed. It was fascinated to hear how weird he felt and how he knew something was up but he didn’t know what. I also liked how it triggered off a conversation between Sam and Dean. Sam had been soulless and therefore Dean thought he should be the one that – tactfully – told Len what had happened to him…turns out Sam was pretty reluctant and Dean ended up telling Len (while handcuffing him to the car). My hubby laughed out loud at this bit and it was unusual to see him enjoying Supernatural so much. Well done Jensen Ackles – you made my husband like you! Not an easy task…

In the end it turned out that the babysitter ‘did it.’ It was interesting to see the difference between her experience and Len’s. Obviously Supernatural is trying to show us that the loss of a soul affects everyone differently. As Dean put it – Len lost his heart and the babysitter lost her head. I found the babysitter quite unsettling and her reasoning for killing was frighteningly easy to understand. This episode was full of nice twists and to see Len actually save the boys was a total shock. His explanation towards the end was pretty upsetting and I felt really sorry when he gave himself up so that he wouldn’t be able to harm anyone else. I am secretly hoping we see Len again and I am also secretly hoping that he gets his soul back.

As for Amara – boy is she creepy. As she watched the boys drive away she made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I think she will make a very satisfying big bad and I hope she continues to suck souls and grow!

This episode ended with one of my favorite things – Sam and Dean and Baby; a few emotional moments and some brotherly bonding. I’d say that I enjoyed it almost as much as Baby and I liked the fact that it moved the mythology on without the presence of angels, demons or Rowena!

Next week looks – well – I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to it but Season 11 has been pretty good so far (except for episode 3 but let’s forget about that) and I’m curious as to what will happen next.